题目内容
But nowhere has a bigger health problem than America. Soaring medical bills are squeezing wages, swelling the ranks of the uninsured and pushing huge firms and perhaps even the government towards bankruptcy. Ford's announcement this week that it would cut up to 30,000 jobs by 2012 was as much a sign of its "legacy" health-care costs as of the ills of the car industry. Pushed by polls that show health care is one of his main domestic problems and by forecasts showing that the retiring baby-boomers will crush the government's finances, George Bush is expected to unveil a reform. plan in next week's state-of-the-union address.
America's health system is unlike any other. The United States spends 16% of its GDP on health, around twice the rich-country average, equivalent to $ 6,280 for every American each year. Yet it is the only rich country that does not guarantee universal health coverage. Thanks to an accident of history, most Americans receive health insurance through their employer, with the government picking up the bill for the poor and the elderly.
This curious hybrid certainly has its strengths. Americans have more choice than anybody else, and their health-care system is much more innovative. Europeans' bills could be much higher if American medicine were not doing much of their Research and Development (R&D) for them. But there are also huge weaknesses. The one most often cited—especially by foreigners—is the army of uninsured. Some 46 million Americans do not have cover. In many cases that is out of choice and, if they fall seriously ill, hospitals have to treat them. But it is still deeply unequal. And there are also shocking inefficiencies: by some measures, 30% of American health spending is wasted.
Then there is the question of state support. Many Americans disapprove of the "so-cialized medicine" of Canada and Europe. In fact, even if much of the administration is done privately, around 60% of America's health-care bill ends up being met by the government. Proportionately, the American state already spends as much on health as the OECD (Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development) average, and that share is set to grow as the baby-boomers run up their Medicare bills and ever more employers avoid providing health-care coverage. America is, in effect, heading towards a version of socialized medicine by default.
Health problems mentioned in the passage include all the following EXCEPT ______.
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The best title for the passage may be ______.
According to the passage, which of the following styles of architecture was the last to become fashionable in San Francisco？
Part A
Directions: Read the following four texts. Answer the questions below each text by choosing A, B, C or D . Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.
Office jobs are among the positions hardest hit by computation. Word processors and typists will lose about 93,000 jobs over the next few years, while 57,000 secretarial jobs will vanish. Blame the PC: Today, many executives type their own memos and carry their "secretaries" in the palms of their hands. Time is also hard for stock clerks, whose ranks are expected to decrease by 68,000. And employees in manufacturing firms and wholesalers are being replaced with computerized systems.
But not everyone who loses a job will end up in the unemployment line. Many will shift to growing positions within their own companies. When new technologies shook up the telecomm business, telephone operator Judy Dougherty pursued retraining. She is now a communications technician, earning about $ 64,000 per year. Of course, if you've been a tollbooth collector for the past 30 years, and you find yourself replaced by an E-ZPass machine, it may be of little consolation to know that the telecomm field is booming.
And that's just it: The service economy is fading; welcome to the expertise (专门知识 ) economy. To succeed in the new job market, you must be able to handle complex problems. Indeed, all but one of the 50 highest-paying occupations--air-traffic controller—demand at least a bachelor's degree.
For those with just a high school diploma, it's going to get tougher to find a well-paying job. Since fewer factory and clerical jobs will be available, what's left will be the jobs that computation can't kill: Computers can't clean offices, or care for Alzheimer's patients. But, since most people have the skills to fill those positions, the wages stay painfully low, meaning computation could drive an even deeper wedge between the rich and poor. The best advice now: Never stop learning, and keep up with new technology.
For busy adults, of course, that can be tough. The good news is that the very technology that's reducing so many jobs is also making it easier to go back to school—without having to sit in a classroom. So-called Internet distance learning is hot, with more than three million students currently enrolled, and it's gaining credibility with employers.
Are you at risk of losing your job to a computer？ Check the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook, which is available online at bls. gov.
From the first paragraph we can infer that all of the following persons are easily thrown into unemployment EXCEPT ______。
SECTION B INTERVIEW
Directions: In this section you will hear everything ONCE ONLY. Listen carefully and then answer the questions that follow. Questions 1 to 5 are based on an interview. At the end of the interview you will be given 10 seconds to answer each of the following five questions.
Now listen to the interview.
听力原文： Kenny Enjoys Driving a Taxi
Interviewer: Well, Kenny, as a college graduate, how did you becomea a taxi driver？
Kenny: Well, you do it for money, obviously, like most jobs. But I enjoyed the urn, I suppose I enjoy being a taxi driver, because I could be my own boss, you know, doing what I want to do. You decide what area you're going to, when to have a break, stuff like that. One thing you have to be always thinking about is where you might pick up a passenger. Will the theatre be turning out？ Do they have an afternoon performance？ What time will the planes be coming in？ Are there any trains arriving？ You sec, you're always sort of... scheming to make an extra bit of money. And the relationship between reward and effort is very immediate. Um you, you make the right decisions, they pay you and you get a fare. You don't have to wait until the end of the month! You meet, well you meet some people who aren't all that nice, but the vast majority of people are very nice. If you're pleased to talk to them, they're mostly pleased to talk to you. You get a feel for people who don't want to talk to you, obviously the first couple of one-word answers will tell you...
Interviewer: So you always start talking？
Kenny: I always wish people "Good morning" or "Good afternoon" or whatever that gets things off to a good start. Because quite a few people have a general dislike of taxi drivers.
Interviewer: Do they？
Kenny: Well, they do. I mean, the mere fact they can't get a cab the minute they want one makes them annoyed, you know, and if the cab takes half an hour or so to come, you know, people are beside themselves. "Why is it so？", you know, "Why didn't you come sooner？" "Well, I was on the other side of town at the time, sir!", you know. But um start them off well, on a sunny day, people are pleasant, happy. You meet some people who are famous.
Interviewer: Like？
Kenny: Well, I took Louisa Wallis to the airport on Sunday, who's.., famous, from soap operas, a big soap opera star in, um what was it？ "Fathers and Sons”— oh you must have seen it. She played Gertie for years. Oh yes, yes, famous, well-known. And I took Brian Best, the sports commentator, to a football match a little while ago. He told me a few good jokes, I remember. Interviewer: Have you ever made a friend of somebody you took in your cab？
Kenny: No. No, I haven't actually. I suppose they're brief encounters that aren't really suitable to be extended. There're certain professional distances. I suppose. There's a line beyond which I don't feel that I want to go. I don't want to make friends of everybody in the world. I just happen to like having a little chat with them for a while. I suppose I was born to do that sort of thing. I'd have made a good shop assistant. I'd have made a lovely menswear assistant, something like that. Very nice, charming and friendly but don't need to talk at any length.
Why does Chris enjoy driving a taxi？
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